by K W Quinn
Cass bit down hard on Thana’s earlobe, causing her concentration to break enough for him to get that gust through—a breath, a little wisp, but it was enough.
Barely enough to cause a puff on the floor of the ring, a tiny blast of dust and sand flew right into Nichaela’s eyes. She was blinded by the filth from countless brutal fights, shaking her head and struggling to stand. Andy growled deep in his throat and let out a scream.
Thana pushed Cass away, grabbing at her damaged ear. “You little slut, be careful.”
Cass was trembling. He tried to look at her or demurely at the ground, but his gaze was drawn to the ring. She smiled then.
“You like the violence? Gets you excited?”
If she turned and saw the change in the champion’s fate, she might suspect things. Cass nodded and moved back toward her, letting his hands tremble. He reached for her. Fear and excitement were close cousins in physicality. She chuckled deep in her throat but let him keep watching the ring. She stroked his arms with her cold hands.
With what must have been the last reserves of his strength, Andy grabbed Nichaela’s belt. Cass held his breath. Andy pushed with his legs, using every bit of strength from every gymnastics practice he’d ever had and toppled her over.
Her head made a dense thud as she hit the ground, but Andy wasted no time. He crawled up her chest and spat in her face, then grabbed her head and slammed it back on the ground. He shoved both thumbs into her eyes, pushing slowly, with all the cold fury of a captive. Nichaela was writhing.
Cass felt wind rushing through his body, trapped and frantic. Could Andy feel the Light in his veins, even knowing he couldn’t use his magic because the dampening field pushed against them all like fog? But just like Cass had felt the surge of power, Andy must have felt it too. Felt the blaze for a second, like hope.
Andy was still pushing, and the wordless cries from Nichaela slowly settled into something coherent.
“Hold!” she screamed.
The Dome was filled with the frenzied screams of the crowd: calling for blood, calling for annihilation, cheering the new champion they’d wished dead minutes before.
Andy had won. He could still blind her if he wanted to. What if Andy kept pushing until he felt the tension break with a wet pop and left the ring bloodied? Nichaela’s arms were trapped beneath Andy’s thighs, and she tapped out, hands clawing at the floor as she drummed her feet and screamed for mercy.
He could blind her, kill her, but he didn’t. He tilted his head back and screamed again. He yelled out his victory and shame, deafening the crowd that clamored for blood and gore.
Thana craned her neck to see the ring. Cass didn’t have to try to whimper at her touch, shaking and clinging to her. He absently fumbled at her back to keep up the game, but he felt like he was down in the ring too. Andy’s rage still filled his ears.
He thought he felt Andy’s thumbs pushing into soft eyes, the screams beneath his fingers. If Andy felt Cass watching, he gave no hint. He was focused, his desperation and fear ringing with the echo of his fury.
Punishment
The crowd was on their feet, screaming and cheering the sudden change. Had they felt the wavering in their magic, too, or had their lust for violence blinded them?
The announcer climbed into the ring. “Ladies and gents, Earth and others, I can’t believe my eyes,” he called, voice hollow and shaking. He gripped Andy’s wrist tightly. “The winner.”
Around the ring, Bonded started moving the other fighters back into their holding cages. The announcer dragged Andy to each corner of the ring to be praised. Andy followed along numbly.
Cass needed a way out. He needed the Water music to come back and tell him what to do next because now he was stuck pretending to be a prostitute while his best friend, thankfully still alive, was about to be put back in a cage.
Other than the noise of the crowd and his racing heart, his head was empty. Quiet. No inspiration at all. The witch’s perfume was sharply floral, stinging the back of Cass’s throat as he pulled in desperate breaths.
The trembling of fear and rush of adrenaline was fading, and Cass suddenly felt tired. Exhausted. Like his arms were full of fog and rain. He lost his grip on Thana, who had finally turned to see the outcome of the fight.
“Lucky for the newcomer. For now. I’m sure there are plenty of people who lost money on this fight. He’ll be punished once he’s out of sight. Nichaela too.” She wrapped a thick arm around Cass’s waist. “Do you want to see that, pet? Would you like to see the new boy punished? He’s been a very bad boy, upsetting the evening like that.”
Thana’s face pulled into a vicious smile, her voice a mockery of concern. Andy was being dragged away. Cass nodded eagerly. It wasn’t the exit he wanted, but it might be the best option he had left.
He pulled at his sweater, unsure if he was trying to cover or expose but needing something to do with his hands so he didn’t grab the witch and drag her down the stairs. He bit his lip, trying to look coquettish, flirtatious, anything other than desperate.
Thana chuckled and waved a hand over her shoulder. “Since the fight is finished, that will hold until the crowd disperses.”
Cass blinked quickly, feeling a brief shudder of magic as the dampening field was tied off. Witches used their magic so casually. It didn’t take the same toll on them as Elementals.
“Ren, stay here while I take my new toy out for a spin,” Thana said to the guard. “Come along, pet. Let’s see how you like watching the violence up close.”
They walked down the stairs and through the spectators, the crowd parting in front of them like magic. Was it actually magic, or were folks aware of the danger in crossing one of the Earth’s witches?
Only the best, most potent, cruelest magic users were displayed at events like this. Security was secondary to the fear of a curse or transfiguration. How was he going to escape without one of those thrown at him? Looking around, he tried to memorize the hallway and doors they passed. Sconces on the walls made splashes of light and patches of dark.
The dampening field was dissipating, but Cass was too worried and weak to try anything. Cold sweat dripped down his spine. The witch pushed her way past guards and bouncers, barking orders at Enforcers and everyone else. Cass tried to hum the tune of the music and remember any bit of the melody, but it was gone.
Down past the ring, in a heavily upholstered hallway, Thana opened a door and pulled Cass inside. She pulled him close and grabbed his face. Kissing him fiercely, she pressed him against the wall. Cass almost forgot to be willing and pliant. Maybe she would take his hesitation as surprise.
“Just a taste, pet,” she said against his lips. Her hands wandered over his hips. “Wait until you see what I have for you. You like to watch? Watch this.”
She pulled Cass along and stepped up to a scanner on the wall. She winked at Cass before presenting her eye to be verified. Light flashed across her face. How was Cass going to get out of this labyrinth without one of her eyeballs?
The wall in front of them slid away silently, and there was Andy. He was sweaty, still dripping blood. His face was swollen, his hands chained to a table. There wasn’t a chair, so Andy leaned his hips against the table, head bowed but back straight.
Cass could see his legs trembling as he struggled to remain standing. Cass’s heart screamed in his chest. He needed Andy to see him, to know he was here, to know Cass had saved him. But if Thana suspected that Andy knew Cass, there would be two people punished in the dim room.
Where was the punisher? Cass looked for some big, strong Earth to make Andy regret winning, but there was none.
Thana stepped forward and curled her fingers in the air next to her hip. A black paddle appeared in her hand. Cass blinked. She was far more powerful a witch than he realized. Maybe she had some Fae blood.
As she walked to the table, she smiled at Cass and licked her lips. “Eyes on me, pet.”
Andy’s head lifted slowly at her voice. Thana grabbed Andy’s ha
ir and bent him down over the table before he could see or say anything.
“Lucky stunt you pulled up there, but it wasn’t the luck we wanted. You should know there’s a price to be paid for everything, Bonded. So, since you acted like a brat and ruined the evening, you’ll be punished like a brat. Now be a good little fighter, or I’ll make this worse than it needs to be. Pet, keep count.”
The crack of the paddle seemed louder than it should have been. The room didn’t have padded walls, but the brocaded wallpaper should have absorbed some of the sound.
Cass flinched in time with Andy, trying to keep his voice calm. He counted each spank as it landed, just like Thana had instructed. Cass’s stomach turned at being a part of this, even though it was only through speaking numbers.
He wasn’t sure how any of this was going to help him get Andy out of here, but the deal had been to free Andy from a life of slavery. So Cass was going to hold on until the Water music came back to help him out. There had to be a way out.
Thana had been very specific in her instructions, and Cass wanted Andy to obey as much as she did. With Andy’s eyes fixed on the floor, Cass kept count of the blows. He should have tried to disguise his voice, but it was enough work to keep his face pleasant and entertained instead of disgusted and terrified.
If Andy flinched at all in recognition, it was lost in the jerking of his body as he tried to escape the paddle. His skin was red, hands trapped beneath his chest, hair wet with sweat. Cass cursed Min in his head for whatever inspiration had led them here instead of to freedom.
“Ten,” Cass said, hoping that the tremor in his voice would be mistaken for lust.
“Well done, pet.” Thana rubbed her hand across Cass’s back and smiled. “Want to try something new?”
Cass blinked at her, too shaken to answer.
Thana ran her hands briefly over Andy’s skin. She spoke a quiet Spell.
“Can’t have him passing out before we’re finished with him, can we, pet? This will dull the pain he’s accumulated so far. It won’t eliminate it or stop new pain. That wouldn’t be any fun. But for a while, he won’t feel what he’s been through. It’s like a fresh canvas, pet. Just for you.”
She handed Cass the paddle. For once, he didn’t have to fake the smile of eager anticipation because the Water music had begun thrumming in his head as soon as she’d extended her hand to him.
Humming, Cass bit his lip and locked eyes with the witch. He wanted to dance. He wanted to sing. Instead, he took the paddle and slipped into Thana’s arms. He kissed her lightly on the cheek. Her hands stroked his back. He took up position beside and behind Andy. There was no need to disguise his voice at all now.
“Keep your head down and take what’s coming to you,” he said firmly, not bothering to keep the giddy grin off his face.
Thana took a step back. “Very nice. Now show him, pet. Show him who’s in charge.”
Wind in his veins, music in his head, Cass hefted the paddle in his hand and smirked. “Oh, I will.”
Cass took a deep breath, felt the bend of the dissipating dampening field, and pulled his arm back.
The melody danced in his mind, and he let out his breath. No ordinary breath, but Wind, giving force to his swing, pushing the paddle faster and harder than he could manage alone. He stepped through the swing, passing by Andy entirely and twisting to land a blow right across Thana’s face. The momentary look of surprise on her face before her eyes rolled back in her head filled him with satisfaction. Cass knew she’d lost consciousness when the paddle in his hand dissipated.
As she crumbled to the ground with a thud, Andy rasped out, “You wanna tell me what the blood and ash is going on?”
Cass giggled. The music was so loud in his head. He felt invincible. He didn’t have much power, but he had enough, and that was what mattered.
“Yeah, hold on. Still working out the kinks,” Cass said.
“This whole thing is way kinkier than I want to think about,” Andy sighed.
Cass whistled out a thin stream of air. He felt it slip around Andy, down the links of the chain that held him to the table, and into the lock. He squinted and stuck his tongue out between his teeth as he picked the lock.
Andy struggled to straighten his back, pushing himself up. The shackles clacked on the table. Cass stepped closer, running his hands around Andy’s injuries, looking for signs that he was delirious or in shock.
“You all right?”
“I’m not sure if I should kick or kiss that face of yours, but lucky for you, I’m too scared to do either.” Andy slouched against the table.
“No kicking or kissing, thank you.”
If it weren’t for the melody swimming in Cass’s ears, he would wonder if Andy had the strength to make it out. The music didn’t lie—at least it hadn’t yet—and the only viable option was to trust it because all the other options were too awful to think about.
“Rest there. I’m gonna slip this uniform on and figure out how to get us out of here,” Cass said over his shoulder. He used his strength and magic to wrestle Thana out of her robe.
“Good thing this collar is on because I want her to burst into flames,” Andy said. His voice landed hard in the swanky dungeon.
“I don’t know how that collar works or doesn’t, but you’re still not a Pyro.” Cass grunted and rolled Thana off the robe. “If you want to dazzle some twinkle lights in her eyes, be my guest. Can you keep the shackles on without latching them? It will make this more believable.”
Cass shrugged the robes on and fastened the clasps, grateful that the witch was tall. The music in his head swelled.
“Time to go.”
“I am actually angry enough to start fires.” Andy scowled.
“Yep. Whatever you say. Now let me think a minute.”
The door leading to the hallway was almost imperceptible from inside. Cass stepped toward it, but the music dimmed. He grabbed Andy under the elbow and helped him toward the back wall. There was no scanner there, which was great because he didn’t want to use Thana’s eyeball anyway, but there had to be another door.
“Use the badge,” Andy said, waving one hand weakly toward Cass’s chest.
“I would have figured it out eventually,” Cass grumbled. He leaned toward the wall. Before his shoulder met the wallpaper, a door slid open. Cass pulled Andy through, looking both ways.
He took a halting step to the right, then second-guessed himself and pulled Andy to the left. Trying to move with the swagger and confidence that Thana had used to push her way past everyone on the way in, Cass let the music in his head guide his feet.
Andy slumped and stumbled along, looking every inch the battered prisoner. As they rounded a corner, Cass’s stomach dropped to his knees at the sight of a guard with a clipboard sitting outside a large iron door.
“Back so soon?” the guard said with half interest. “Guess he’s not so tough after all.”
He waved his badge, hanging on a retractable reel, at the door.
Cass bit his tongue and nodded, pushing Andy along. No glamours or tricks hid the doors in this hallway. Narrow doors much too close to each other stretched down each wall. A dead end, prisons on every side. Cass kept walking, feeling his panic rise in time with the music. He had to be calm, had to trust, had to keep moving forward. Suddenly, a hallway appeared on his right, shorter and ending in a wooden door carved with runes.
Pulling Andy with him, Cass moved toward the door but stopped cold as it swung open. The night outside was crisp, and he could smell the breeze even at this distance. Two robed somebodies came in, laughing and going through the motions of security without much thought. The door swung lazily closed behind them.
Cass pressed Andy against the wall so that the corner dug into his friend’s shoulder sharply.
“Don’t you ever pull a stunt like that again, you hear me? You won’t last long in here with an attitude like that,” he gritted through his teeth, knowing it was enough to be heard by the robed people as t
hey walked past.
“Little one like that might not last long anyway,” one said with a snicker.
Cass held his breath until they were out of sight, then pushed Andy toward the door.
“You gotta run, Andy. We have to run.” It was too much to ask, but Cass knew it was the only way out.
Andy nodded, clenched his teeth, and moved toward the door. Cass peeled off the robe and waved it at the door, first high, then low, then in a circle both ways. The guard had opened it with his badge. He could too. It felt ridiculous and random, but he knew it would work out, that somehow he’d find the right spot to let them out.
The door swung open. A deep rumble and tremor came up through the floor. Cass could barely hear it over the melody of the Water music, so he grabbed Andy and squeezed through the doorway as soon as the gap was big enough.
On the other side, the air was sweet, and Andy filled his lungs. They smiled at each other for a moment before the next tremor caused them to sway.
“Time to go,” they said in unison.
Escape
Without alarms blaring, running away felt a little silly, but the rising shouts from inside made it clear that faster would be better. The ground still shook at regular intervals. Of course the Earth Conglomerate would have security in the actual ground.
Cass kept a grip on Andy’s hand, and they pushed forward between tremors. He wanted to scream in frustration every time they stopped, but the music in his head was so forceful, he couldn’t hear his own thoughts. In time with the tremors, the music swelled, and Cass and Andy froze. A life-and-death version of red light, green light.
“This is stupid. We should run,” Andy said, trying to pull Cass forward.
“If we’re moving when the tremors hit, something bad is gonna happen. We’ll fall and not be able to move or worse. I know that we have to stay still,” Cass huffed, eyes searching for guards.